Transmission



April 15, 1952 E. G. REED, JR

TRANSMISSION s Sheets-Sheet 1' Filed Dec. 12, 1947 Iiiint IN V EN TOR.

[om/v 6 #550 JR April 15, 1952 R D, JR 2,593,184

TRANSMISSION Filed Dec. 12, 1947 3 Sheet'sSheet: 2

/ INVENTOR. [am/v 62 19550 J? E. G. REED, JR

TRANSMISSION April 15, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 12, 1947 Patented Apr. 15, 1952 UNITED STATE s PATENT OFFICE This invention relatesto a transmission and particularly to a transmission combining a fiuid drive unit and a mechanical power transmitting unit, i. eagear unit. l

The transmission embodying the invention may be advantageously used to operatively'inter'connect the driving and driven. shafts of various forms of power driven apparatus, but inasmuch as the transmission has special utility when used in motor Vehicles to connect the engine shaft with the driven or propeller shaft it will be described herein by way of illustration and without limitation as employed in such environment.

Heretofore change speed transmissions for connecting the driving and driven shafts of power actuated mechanisms quite generallyhave consisted of shiftable change speed gears and have required the use of a clutch between the-driving shaft and the transmission or the useof other mechanism permitting the shifting of the gears to obtain the various speeds.

In the generally used transmissions the manual shifting of the gears does not facilitate the operation and control of the transmissionwhile those transmissions wherein the gears are shifted automatically are usually expensive and complex.- g

In addition to the usual forms of transmission heretofore employed, transmissions have been designed and used embodying a combina-- An; object of the invention is toprovide an improved and novel transmission embodying a fluid drive unit and a mechanical power transmitting unit and without necessitating the'use ofmanually operated clutches and which transmission eliminates thedisadvantagesof the transmissions heretofore used or designed and referred to above. 7 r

A further object of the invention is to provide atransmission of the type referred to andwhich furnishes smoothand rapid acceleration at vari- I ous desired gear ratios without necessitating manual or automatic gear shifting or the use of clutches ora complicated control system.

14c1aims. (01. 74-688) A further object is to provide a transmissionas specified in the last named object and which is capable of producing a positive low speed drive and a positive reverse drive.

A still further object is to provide a transmission embodying a fluid drive unit and a mechanical power transmitting unit and in which latter unit the gears thereof are always intermeshed, thus obviating the use of a manually or automatically operated clutch.

A still further and important object of the invention is to provide a transmission of the type specified wherein there is a fixed torque ratio during acceleration of the power source and un-.

der heavy torque load conditions but which fixed torque ratio decreases automatically to substantially direct drive when the torque of the power source approaches torque load.

A still further object is to provide a transmission as referred to in the last object and wherein a fixed torque ratio exists for reverse drive" transmission combining the use of a fluid fan unit and. a gear train unit thus dividing or. distributing power source torque between the fans of the fan unitand the gear shafts and thereby enabling smaller fans to be used and also reducing stress and wear in the shafts, gears, bearings and other operative parts of the transmis-' sion, thus increasing the efficiency of the trans-' mission and prolonging its useful life.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved and novel transmission embodying a fluid drive unit and a mechanical power transmitting unit and wherein the impeller or driving fan and the driven fan of the fluid drive unit are relatively and automatically movable in an axial direction during operation of the trans-f;

mission to vary the fluid torque transmitted between the fans in accordance with varying re-' quirements of operation.

A still further object is to provide an improved and novel transmission combining a fluid drive unit and a gear drive unit and wherein positive gear ratios can be obtained, and more specifically wherein these positive gear ratios are obtained by the use of a free wheeling; device includedin' the transmission.

not hereinbef-ore specified will become apparent during the detailed description of an embodiment of the invention which is to follow. Re-

ferring to the accompanying drawings illustrating such embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a transmission embodying the invention and illustrates schematically and partly in section the selector valve, the main off and on valve and th fluid circuits for the transmission, the selector valve being shown in the position it occupies for forward automatic drive.

Fig. 1a is a detached view of the selector valve shown in position for forward positive low gear operation of the transmission, the section portion being taken through a different plane of valve body or core than is the sectional portion shown in Fig. i.

'Figlb is a' detached view of the selector valve shown in position for reverse operation of the transmission, the sectional portion of the val vebody or core being taken through the same plane'as' the sectional portion of Fig. 1.

Fig. -1c is a detached view of the selector valve shown in neutral or inactive position.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the transmission and is taken substantially on line 2 2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows, and

Figs. 3, 4, and 6 are transverse sectional views taken, respectively, approximately on lines 3-3141-4, 55 and 66 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

As previously stated the transmission embodying'the. invention maybe employed advantageously; in connecting the driving and driven shafts of many various forms of power driven apparatus. Since the transmission has particular utility when employed in a motor vehicle to interconnect the engine shaft andthe driven or propeller shaft it will be so explained herein not by-Way of limitation but merely for purposes of illustrations.

In view of the broad utility of which the transmission is susceptible it has been shown in the drawings as designed for more general use than as a transmission fora motor vehicle and for that reason the driving or power shaft lil when viewed from the left of Figs. 1 and 2 rotates counterclockwise.

Bearing the above in mind it may be assumed, however, that the driving or power shaft it which extends from the power source is, in this instance; the engine shaft of the internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle, even though in most'motor vehicles such engine shaft rotates clockwise when looking from the front. of the vehicle toward the rear thereof. The driven shaft II which is operatively connected to the driving shaft Ill by the transmission embodying the invention may be thepropeller shaft .of thev ported in a supporting bushing l2 forming partof the engine or engine frame and suitable anti-i friction and thrust bearings are provided for said engine shaft as will be well understood in the art. The end of the engine shaft within the transmission is provided with a centrally reduced portion l3 that rotatably interfits a bore M formed in the adjacent end of the driven or propeller shaft ll, suitable anti-friction and thrust bearings and spacer sleeves being provided between the shafts. This arrangement maintains the shafts in axial alignment.

The transmission is contained in a housing illustrated as consisting of a casing A for the fluid drive unit, an intermediate casing B for the brake mechanism of the transmission and a casing C for the mechanical power transmitting or gear unit of the transmission. If desired, the casings B and 0 might be combined into a single casing. The aligned driving and driven shafts l0 and H extend centrally into and through the housing, it being understood that suitable seals areprovided between said shafts or other parts of the transmission and the three casings A, B and C forming the housing to prevent the leakage of fluid or liquid from the casings. The casing A of the fluid drive unit is provided'with a coolant jacket l5 and said jacket may have coolant introduced into the same from a suitable source of supply connected to the opening It. It will be understood that the coolant may be circulated through the jacket and a suitable outlet opening therefor (not shown) may be provided. The driving shaft ll} within the casing C has fixedly keyed to it a carrier or cross head I! which is shown as formed with four radially extending arms spaced apart-, although it will be understood that said cross head or carrier might be provided with a different number of arms. The outer ends of the arms of the carrier I! are provided with enlarged or extended bearing sleeve portions l8 which rotatably mount gear supporting shafts IQ of the planetary gear unit contained in the casing The shafts!!!) are parallel with each. other and with the shafts ill and II and have fixed to their right hand ends as viewed in Fig. 2, gears 20 while the opposite ends of said shafts have fixed thereto gear clusters formed of a larger gear 2| and a smaller gear 22. The gears 20' and 2! maintain the shafts l9 against axial movement in the bushing sleeves l8 of the carrier ll. The gears 23 constantly mesh with alarge sun gear 23 keyed to the driven or propeller shaft H, whereby said gears 20 can drive the gear 23 and the shaft II with a suitable and desired gear reduction drive. I

Anelongated sleeve 24 extends from the casing A throughcasing B and into casing C and is freely rotatable on the drivingshaft it! but is held against axial displacementrelative to said shaft as clearly indicated in Fig. 2. The end of the sleeve 24 within the casing C has keyed to it a sun gear 25 which constantly meshes with the gears 2i of the gear clustersfixed to the shafts I!) that are rotatably mounted in the arms of the carrier I'll. Although the gears 2i and 25 are shown'as of the same size it will be understood that the size of said gears might be in a different ratio as desired. in the provision of varying functions for the transmission.

A sleeve 26 is rotatable freely on the sleeve 24 but is held against axial movement thereon and extends from within the casing C to within the casing B. .The sleeve 26 within the casing C hasfixedto it a sun gear 21 which constantly meshes with the gears "22 of the gear clusters fixed on the. shafts l9 mounted in the carrier. The gear 21 is shown as larger than the gears 22, the ratio indicated being approximately twoto-one, but it will be understood that this ratio might be varied as desired. The sleeve 23 within the casing B has keyed to it a brake disk or wheel 28, the periphery of which forms a brake drum located within the brake band 29 of a brake mechanism of the well known contractible type and which brake mechanism is clearly shown in Fig. 3. The casing B mounts three such brake mechanisms, oneof which is associated with the j The brake mechanism of the contractible type is held normally expanded or released by a spring 39 located between outwardly extending lugs formed on the contractible brake band and through which lugs extends a rod 3| which when moved in one direction contracts the brake band against the action of the spring 39 to apply the brake and when moved in the opposite direction by the spring releases the brake.

' The sleeve 24 has keyed to it a stepped brake wheel 32.; The step of the brake wheel 32 mounts a free wheeling device in the form of a brake annulus 33, the inner circumference of which surrounds the step of the brake wheel 32 and which annulus is provided with a continuous circumferentially extending series of recesses 34 which diminish in depth in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3 and in which recesses are located balls 35. It will be seen than when the annulus 33 is held against rotation the stepped brake wheel 32 giay rotate relative to the annulus in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3 but not in a counterclockwise direction, since in the latter instance the balls 35 will interlockxthe wheel 32 and the annulus 33 as soon as cates with the central portion of the casing A.

The inlet and drain conduits for said cylinders will be referred to hereinafter as will also the means for controlling the actuation thereof to apply and release the respective brake mecha-. nisms. l

The portion of the sleeve 24 which extends into the casing A carries the driven fan 41 of the fluid drive unit and said fan may be formed inengine and is slidably supported on the driving the balls reach a position in the recesses 34 of 7 limited depth as is well known in constructions of this type. i l

. The outer circumference of'the annulus 33 is within the brake band'29 of the intermediate brake mechanismwhile the outer circumference of the brake wheel 32 is within the brake band Fig. 2. The annulus 33 is maintained against axial displacement by a spacer ring 36 located between it and the stepped brake wheel 32 and by a'spacer ring 31 engaging the right hand side of the annulus as viewed in Fig. 2 and carried by a' ring-like plate 38 securedto the right hand side of the brake wheel 32.

Reading from right to left in Fig. 2- the brake mechanisms for the brake disk or wheel 28, the

brake annulus 33 and the brake wheel 32 are nected to a drain conduit 46 which communiof the left hand brake mechanism as viewed in tegral with the seleve .24 or be separate therefrom and rigidly secured thereto as may be desired. The fan 41 is of general cup-shape configuration and. is provided with a plurality of radial blades 48. As already stated, the sleeve 24 is mounted against axial movement and hence the fan 41 While having rotative movement in the casing A does not have any axial movement therein. f

.An elongated sleeve 49 extends from within the casing A outwardly thereof toward the or engine shaft i0 and on the sleeve. 12. The driving shaft I0 is provided with spiral threads 59 that cooperate with spiral grooves or threads 5| formed in the sleeve 49 and said cooperating threads produce or permit relative axial movement of the sleeve 49 on the shaft I0 and also function to operatively interconnect the sleeve 49 and driving shaft for rotation together. The sleeve 49 within the casing A carries a driving or impeller fan 52 similar to the fan 41 and provided with a circularly spaced series of radially extending blades 53. The open ends of the cupshaped impeller or driving fan- 52 and of the driven fan 4! face toward each other and are spaced apart predetermined distances which,.as will laterbe explained, is variable to meet different operating conditions, it having been noted that the fan 52 is capable of axial movement relative to the fan 4'! and the driving shaft I0.

In place of the cup-shaped or drum-like fans illustrated the driving and driven fans of the fluid drive unit may be constructed in the form of torus rings to prevent fluid friction between the fans and the casing.

A coil spring 54 surrounds the sleeve 49 externally of the casing A and has its opposite ends abutting the packing gland nut 55 carried by the casing and a stop ring 56 threadedly connected to the sleeve 49. If desired, anti-friction balls 57 may be interposed between the packing gland nut 55 and a disk 58 against which the end of the spring 54 abuts. The springf54 constantly tends to move the sleeve 49 and fan 52 axially toward the left as viewed in Fig. 2 to increase the gap between the impeller fan 52 and the driven fan 41 and thereby to minimize fluid torque between the fans, it being recalled that in power source or engine is idling and it is advantageous during such time to lock the sleeve 49 and fan 52 in this axially displaced position.

member and the pin 59 are accurately guided and maintained in the proper position. A spring 63 surrounds the pin 59 and abuts against the sleeve 49 and the underside of the base ofthe U-shaped member BI and functions to normally maintain the pin in retracted or inoperative position wherein it is withdrawn from the groove 60. The upper surface of the base of the U- shaped member BI is an inclined or camming surface which cooperates with the internal conical surface 64 of an actuating collar; 85 that is slidable on the sleeve 49. provided on its-periphery with an annular groove 66 into which extend. shoes carried by the free ends of "yoke arms 81 that straddle the: collar. The yoke arms 6'! are shown as formedintegral with a sleeve 58 that isrockably mounted on a,

pin 69 supported in brackets "l9 which maybe part of'the engineframel The sleeve 63' intermediate the yoke arms 61 isprovided with an outwardly extending arm H to which an ac.- tuating link 12 is pivotally connected. Durin the forward automatic drive and the positive low gear operation of the transmissionthe pin 59 is retracted as indicated in Fig. 2 and the relationship of the collar 65 to the U-shaped member BI is as shown in said view. The link or rod 12 is operatively connected to the selector; valve, later to be described, in such manner that when the valve is set for forward automatic drive through the transmission or for positive low gear operation of the transmission the collar 65; will be in the position shown in Fig. 2 and the pin. Q

will be retracted, but when said valve is setfor reverse drive through the transmission or inv neutral or idling position then the collar'will have been moved toward the transmissionihousing relative to the U-shapcd member 6.! to compress the spring 63 and cause the pin 59 to be inserted in the groove 66, since during these two conditions it is advantageous that the sleeve 59 and fan 52 be held against relative axial move-- ment with respect to the shaft Ill. The relative movement of the collar-65 on the sleeve 19' in a direction away from the transmission housingis limited by a stop plate 65a secured totheend of alsois provided with means such as'a filler plug: toenable it to be filled witha lighter lubricating oil acting on the brake wheels and freewheeling mechanism. The. housing formed of the casings A, B and C maybe connected ,to the engine frame or base or to the frame of the vehicle, ,or' to any other suitable support, depending upon a particular installation, it being understood that the housing is always mounted so as to be: rig-idly stationary. p v

A fluid pressure conduit i5- communicateswith the. interior of the casing A adjacent the-outer circumferences of the driving and driven fans 52 and. ti. This conduit '55 extends to andcomrnunicates with the intermediate portion of a valve housing forming part of themainon and.ofi valve of the apparatus: An outlet con duit '57 also communicates with the valvehousing '56 is in diametricallya-ligned relationshipwith the conduit A valve body or core 18' is slidable in' the housing '55 and is provided with a wide annular groove lil which during the The collar 65 is 8, forward automatic drive, the positive low gear operation and the reverse drive of the transmission is in communication with the conduits 15 and H. The width of the groove 19 is such that it will communicate with the conduits 15' and 1'! whenever the engine is being accelerated. The valve body l8 isprovi'ded with a suitable packing or seal adjacent its upper end as viewed inFig. 1 and also has a valve rod 80 extending outwardly of the casing and provided with an abutment plate 8| engaging a nut 82 screwed on the rod. A spring 83 surrounds the rod and abuts the valve housing 16 and the abutment plate 81 and functions to normally maintain the valve body in a position wherein the annular groove 19'is not aligned with the conduits and H, at which time said conduit 15 is dead-ended against-the circumference of the valve body.

The valve rod 83' has a reduced portion a which is operatively connected to the accelerator pedal or control such that when the engine is idling and said pedal or control is not depressed the valve body 18 will be maintained by the spring 83 in its off position.- However, as soon as the accelerator pedal or control is moved toaccelerate the engine the valve body 78 is moved against the action of the spring 83 to bring the groove '19 of the body in alignment with the conduits 15 and H.

Th conduit ll extends to and communicates with the interior of the housing 84- of a selector valve. This valve may be suitably locatedand supported within convenient reach of the operator. The selector valve has rockably mounted in itsliousing 84 a valve body or core 85; it being understood that said body is rocked to its vari ous positions by means of a control lever not shown. The valve body 85- is provided with a radial passage 85 extending to the periphery of the valve body and communicating at its inner end with a sector-like recess 81 of such arcuate extent as to register, expept when the valvebody is in neutral or idle position, with a port 88 in the valve housing and with which the conduit H communicates. The passage 85 can be seelectively registered with ports 89 and SI formed in the valve housing (see. Figs. l and 1b) and with which the conduits 4'4 and 43, respectively, communicate, it being recalled that saidconduits at their other ends communicate respectivelygwith thecylinders 3S and 39 of the brake mechanisms. Hence the selector valve can be operated'to-selectively connect the conduit 11 with these-two brake mechanisms, such selected positionsfof the selectorvalve being indicated in Figs. 1 and lbas positions A and C.

The conduitll has connected to it intermediate the main off and on valve and the selector valvea branch conduit 17a. This branch conduit Tia communicates with an accumulator-or fluid pressure reservoir Nb of well known construction and the purpose of which will later be pointed outv The branch conduit .l'la is provided with a one-way check valve of known construction and which allows pressure fluid to flow.

to and communicates with a-port- 93b formed in the selector valve. housing 84-in a differentplane than the port 8th The: selector valve housing 84' isalso provided with a port 90 located in the same plane as the port 90b but in a different plane from the ports 88, 89 and 9|.

The selector valve body or core 85 is provided with a passage 90c extending therethrough and located in a different plane than the-passage 85 butin the same plane as the ports 90 and 90b.

The selector valve body or core 85 can berocked to a third position, i. e., position B,-which is shown as intermediate previously described positions A and C, to place the passage 900 in communication with ports 90 and 90b (see Fig. 10.). It will be noted that in positions A and C the passage 900 is dead-ended while in position B the'passage 86 is dead-ended.

The port 90 communicates with conduit 45 that extends to the cylinder 4| of the brake mechanism that locks the stepped brake wheel 32 against rotation.

The setting of the selector valve in the three positions A, B and, enables forward automatic drive, positive low gear drive and reverse drive. respectively, to be selected. When the transmission is installed in a vehicle and the latter is parked and the engine is not running the sevalve body 85 is provided with a spring point 92 that cooperates with four arcuately spaced notches in the inner circumference of the valve housing 84 to hold the valve body in any one of its four selected or rocked positions.

. The valve body 85 externally of thevalve housing 84 has fixed thereto a radially extending plate 93 which is providednear its outer end with an arcuate slot 94. The upper end of the rod 12 that controls the position of the collar 65 that actuates the pin 59 mounts a roller which is cated in the slot 94 and the length of said slot 94 is such that when the valve body 85 is in position A the roller will be in the upper end of the slot (see Fig. 1). When the valve body 85 is in position B (see Fig. la) the" roller will still be in the slot 94 adjacent its lower end and hence no -movement is imparted to the rod 72 for selected positions A and B of the selector valve and therefore in positions A and B the collar 65 and locking pin 59 will bein the position shown in Fig. 2 with the pin withdrawn from the groove 60 in the shaft Ill. However, as the selector valve is rocked from position B to positions C and D the roller is in engagement with the lower end of the slot 94 and the rod 12 will be raised upwardly (see Figs. 1b and. 10) to rock the sleeve 68 and shift the collar 65 toward the right as viewed in Fig. 2

to insert the pin 59 in the groove 60 of the engine shaft Iii. It will be understood that when the selector valve body or core 85 is rocked in the opposite direction and has passed position C then the spring 63 functions to retract the locking pin and to shift the collar 65 toward the left with a resultant rocking of the sleeve 58 to move the rod 12 downwardly until 'the collar 65 is at the limit of its left hand movement after which the roller will have relative movement in the slot 94 until in position A of the selector valve it will be adjacent the upper end of the slot.

When the engine is idling the body 18 of the 10 off and. on valve interrupts the flow of fluid pressure to the selector valve. Preferably at this time the selector valve is in position D and the pin 59 automatically is inserted in the groovefifl to lock the sleeve 4-9 and fan 52 against axial displacement, the spring 54 having acted to axially move the fan to a position wherein the gap between the impeller fan 52 and the driven fan 4'! is maximum and therefore minimum fluid torque is developed between the two fans. Inasmuch as no fluid pressure is acting on any of the brake mechanisms at this time (assuming that the selector valve is in position D) all of the brakes are released. At this time the gear23 keyed to the driven or propeller shaft II is held stationary under load and the slow idle rotation (counter-clockwise looking from the left of Figs. 1 and 2) -of the driving or engine shaft H1 in combination with the action of the planetary gearing and the minimum torque developed betweenthe fans 52 and ll causes the fan 41 to rotate at a substantially reduced rate compared with the rate of the idling engine shaft and in the opposite direction. Under these conditions substantially no torque is transmitted through the transmission.

It will now be assumed that it is desired to go into forward automatic drive and that the engine is idling. r The operator moves the selector valve to position A and such movement thereof automatically retracts or releases the locking pin 59 with respect to the groove Bil, wherefore the sleeve 59 and fan 52 are free to have axial movement on the shaft It. The operator accelerates the engine by depressing the accelerator pedal and this operates the on and off valve to place conduits 15 and TI into communication, wherefore fluid pressure is on the selector valve. The acceleration of the engine thus functions in a manner comparable to the usual clutch. The selector valve having been moved to position'A thepiston 42 in cylinder 40 of the intermediate brake mechanism is moved as the engine accelerates to apply the brake to the annulus 33 of the free wheeling, device and thus to prevent the driven fan 41 from rotating in a directionop-posite to the direction of rotation of the engine shaft Hl. Consequently gear 25 momentarily during starting is locked to the transmission housing. Hence during the maintenance of this condition a positive mechanical stepped up gear drivebetween the engine shaft and the driven shaft or" propeller shaft is established through the planetary gear unit to effectively overcome the inertia of starting the forward driven movement of the then stationary driven shaft and, in turn, the parts that are driven therefrom.

As the engine is accelerated to accelerate the rotation of the engine shaft l0 and impeller fan 52 the latter is subject to increased negative torque due to the momentary stationary condition of the driven fan 41. As soon as this negative torque becomes sufficiently great to overcome the action of the spring 54 the impeller fan 52 will have a relative reverse rotation on the engine becomes greater than the negative torque locking the driven fan 41 to the transmission casing," said This decrease in the -position of Fig. 1a,).

ll fan and the sun gear will beginto :rotate in the same direction as the engine shaft. Immediately this occurs the balls .of the free Wheeling device move into'the deep portions of the recesses3l and sleeve 24 and brake wheel :32 rotate with the driven fan 4'! in the same direction as the engine shaft. When this condition obtains every increment of accelerated rotation imparted to the driven fan by the fluid torque, accelerates the sun gear23 on the .propeller shaft and a fractional part of such increment of acceleration'passes through the planetary gear unit in casing C. As soon as the torque transmitted between the impeller fan 52 and the driven fan 47 :reaches the engine torque, disregarding negligible slippage, the transmission is causing the .driven or propeller shaft H to rotate substantially 7 in direct drive at substantially thesame rate of rotation as the engine shaft.

It will now be assumed that it is desired to utilize the'transmission in a vehicle and that the engine shaft H] nevertheless rotates counterclockwise as viewed from the left of Figs. 1 and 2 to providea positive low forward speed gear drive to the-propeller shaft such as would be required in pulling heavy loads or in utilizing the engine as a brake on down grades. It will be assumed that the selector valve is already in position A and that the vehicle is runningin the automatic forward drive and hence the pin 59 is retracted from the groove 65 in the engine shaft. The operator now moves the selector valve from position A to position B (from position of Fig. 1 to This cuts off pressure fluid through conduit 44 to cylinder and the brake mechanism is released from the free wheeling annulus 33 and the cylinder 40 drains through conduit 26. 'The positioning of theselector valve in position B applies pressure fluid to conduit extendingto the cylinder ll and hence the brake is applied to the circumference of the brake Wheel 32. It will be understood that with the engine runningabove idling speed and the selector valve in'position B (Fig. la) pressure fluid flows from conduit 11 through branch conduit Tla, conduit 90a, port 90b, passage 90c and port 90 to conduit 45. Thus brake wheel 32, sleeve 24, driven fan 41 and gear 25 are locked to the transmission casing and held against rotation with the engine shaft. However, the carrier ll revolves with the engine shaft causing the gears '2! to roll around the locked sun gear 25 and to revolve on the axes of theshafts I9, thus causing the gears 22 to idly turn the sun gear 21 and the gears 20 to drive the sun gear 23 and driven or propeller shaft H with a positivegearreduction drive.

It willnow be'assumed that it is desired to park the vehicle and to lock the same in gear, so as not to rely on the hand brake to keep the vehicle from drifting. Ordinarily in fluid drive transmissions this cannot be accomplished. However, withthe present transmission the operator stops theengine and moves the selector valve to position B (Fig. la) The fluid pressure stored in the accumulator lib during the operation of the vehicle acts through conduits Fla, 96a, port 90b, passage 900, port 90 and conduit 45 to apply and to maintain applied the brake mechanism to lock brake wheel 32, sleeve 24, driven fan 4! and gear 25 to the transmission casing. Therefore, in'order for the vehicle to drift the propeller shaft ll mustrotate and for it to do so, requires rotation of sun gear 23 driving gears 20 and. 2|, with the latter gears rolling around the circumference of now locked sun gear 25. This would necessi- 1'2 .tate turning of the carrier [1, engine shaft II] and fan'52 against engine compression and the resistance of the fluid in casing A. Consequently the vehicle can be parked in gear to prevent drifting, a feature which is novel in fluid drive transmissions.

It will now be assumed that it is desired to impart a reverse drive through the transmission. Assuming that the vehicle is stationary or substantially stationary and that the engine is turning over at substantially idle speed, it will be understood from the previous description that the impeller fan 52 and sleeve 49 have moved axially under the action of the spring 54 toward the left from the position shown in Fig. 2, at which time the maximum gap exists between the fans .52 and 41 and the lock pin 59 is aligned with the groove in the engine shaft. At this time no pressure fluid is flowing through the selector valve since the accelerator pedal is not depressed. The operator now moves the selector valve to position C (Fig. 1b) causing lock pin 59 to be inserted in groove 60, and depresses the accelerator to open the on and off valve and to accelerate the engine. As the acceleration occurs fluid pressure created by the action of the fans flows through conduit 15, the on and off valve, conduit Tl and through the selector valve to conduit 43, from whence it flows to cylinder 39 to apply the brake mechanism to the brake disk 28 to lock said disk, sleeve 26 and sun gear 21 to the transmission casing. The engine shaft is now revolving the carrier l1 and the gears 22 are rolling around the circumference of the locked sun gear 21 and are turning on the axes of the shafts 19. Also at this time, since the impeller fan 52 is locked against axial displacement in the position of maximum gap between it and the driven fan 5?, no-eifective driving torque is being imparted to the driven fan and to the sun gear 25 so that in effect the revolving movement of the carrier l'l merely causes the gears 2| to roll around the sun gear 25 and turn on their axes. This of course causes a rotation of the gears 20 on the shafts l9 to drive the driven sun gear 23 and the driven or propeller shaft H with a gear "reduction and in the opposite direction to the direction of rotation of the engine shaft.

The drive through the transmission from the engine shaft to the driven or propeller shaft may be interrupted in either one of two ways. The operator may relieve the accelerator pedal of pressure, whereupon the engine idles and at the same time the on and off valve between the conduits l5 and T! automatically moves to off position, thus cutting off fluid pressure to the selector valve from conduit 'l'l so that the brake mechanisms correlated to positions A and C are released irrespective of the position of the selector valve while the brake mechanism correlated to position B is released if the selector valve is not in position B. When all the brake mechanisms are released and the engine is idling, the carrier l! turns with the slowly rotating engine shaft while the gears 20, 2| and 22 idly rotate on their axes around the circumferences of the sun gears 23, 25 and 2? and no effective driving torque is imparted to the driven shaft l I. At this time the slowly rotating impeller fan 52 imparts ne ligible torque to fan 4'1. On the other hand the operator may desire to interrupt the drive through the transmission while operating the engine at higher than id1e speed as, for instance, when racing the engine for some purpose. Of course when the engine is operating at higher the transmission of such power.

than idle speed, i. e., when the accelerator is depressed, the main on and off valve will be open and pressure fluid Will be on the selector valve. Consequently under such condition in order to interrupt the drive through the transmission it is necessary that all of the brake mechanisms be released and therefore the operator must move the selector valve to position D, i. e., neutral position, wherein the passages 86 and 900 through the valve body are dead-ended (Fig. 1 c) and the conduits 43, 44 and 45 are also deadended and nopressure fluid can flow to the brake mechanisms. It will be recalled that when the selector valve is in position D the pin 59 auto- -matically is engaged in the groove 60 of the engine shaft to lock the impeller fan in a position providing the maximum gap between it and the driven fan so that minimum driving torque is imparted to the latter.

From the foregoing it will have been observed that the transmission is controlled through the medium of the accelerator pedal or lever and the lever operating the selector valve to its various positions and thus the operator can readily and easily govern the operation of the. vehicle or other mechanism and the ob-tainance of the automatic forward drive, the positive low gear drive, the

reverse drive, or can interrupt the drive from the engine shaft to the propeller shaft through the transmission. The acceleration of the engine also functions similarly to the engagement of "the clutch in the usual change speed gear trans- "mission. Likewise the vehicle may be locked in 14 utility when installed in a motor vehicle such use of the transmission has been referred to herein, not withstanding that the transmission is illustrated for counterclockwise rotation of the'drive or power shaft [0 when viewed from the left of Figs. 1 and 2, even though in most motor vehicles it is conventional practice to have the engine shaft rotating clockwise as viewed from the front of the vehicle.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described herein it will be understood that the invention is susceptible of various modifications and adaptations within the scopeof the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: 1

1. In a transmission comprising a fixed housing including a sealed casing adapted tobe filled with a suitable liquid, driving and driven shafts extending into said housing and rotatably supported thereby, driving and driven fans in said casing arranged with a gap therebetween and coaxial with said shafts, a mechanical power train in said housing and including elements one of which is fixed to said driving shaft and anotherto said driven shaft, and means mounting said driving and driven fans and operatively interconnecting the same respectively with said driving shaft and a further element of said train and providing for relative axial movement between said fans automatically in response to operative conditions to vary the fan gap and thus the fluid torque transmitted between the driving and driven fans;

2. In a transmission comprising a fixed housing including a sealed casing adapted to be filled with a suitable liquid, driving and driven shafts ex- I tending into said housing and rotatably supported changed to bevel, internal or other types as desired. Likewise, the invention is not restricted to employing the particular type of impeller and driven fans disclosed herein as any suitable type might be used for the indicated purpose. Fur- "thermore, it is not intended to restrict the invention to the use of brake mechanisms of the confree wheeling unit disclosed as, for instance, a

unit of the rollerbearing type or of the pawl type or of any other suitable type.

It has been pointed out briefly and explicitly herein that the transmission'embodying the inonlythe necessity of suitably changing certain of the parts thereof as, for instance, the pitch of the threads and of the grooves or threads 5| as well as the reversal of the disposition of:

the recesses 34 in the inner circumference of the brake annulus 33.

Inasmuch as the transmission has particular thereby, driving and driven fans in said casing arranged with a gap therebetween and coaxial with said shafts, a mechanical power train in said housing and including elements one of which is fixed to said driving shaft and another to said driven shaft, means rotatably mounting said driven fan in fixed axial position and operatively interconnecting the same with a further element of said train, and means rotatably mounting said driving fan and operatively interconnecting the same with said driving shaft for rotation therewith and axial displacement relative thereto automatically in response to operative conditions to vary the fan gap and thus the fluid torque transmitted between the driving and driven fans.

3. In a transmission comprising a fixed housing including a sealed casing adapted to be filled with a suitable liquid, driving and driven shafts extending into said housing and rotatably supported thereby, driving and driven fans in said casing arranged with a gap therebetween and coaxial with said shafts, a mechanical power train in said housing and including elements one of which is fixed to said driving shaft and another to said driven shaft, means rotatably mounting said driven fan in fixed axial position and operatively interconnecting the same with a further element of said train, a sleeve freely rotatable and slidable on said driving shaft and mounting said driving fan, spring means acting on said sleeve tending to slide the same in one direction relative to said driving shaft, said driving shaft and said sleeve being provided with cooperating threads rotatably interconnecting the shaft and sleeve but providing for relative axial movement therebetween automatically in response to operative conditions to vary the. fan gap and thus the fluid torque transmitted between the driving and. driven fans. .4. A transmission as defined in claimifixand wherein said driving shaft and said sleeve are provided with cooperating means selectively engageable for locking the sleeve against relative axial displacement with respect to the driving shaft when positioned to provide maximum fan gap between the driving and driven fans.

'5. In a transmission comprising a fixed housing including a sealed casing adapted to be filled with a suitable liquid, driving and driven shafts extending into said housing and rotatably supported'thereby, driving and-driven fans in said casing arranged with a gap therebetween and coaxial with said shafts, a planetary gear unit in said housing and including elements one of which iszfixed to said driving shaft and another to said driven shaft, and means mounting said driving and driven fans and operatively interconnecting the same respectively with said driving shaft and a further element of said planetary gear unit and providing for relative axial movement between said fans automatically in response to operative conditions to vary the fan gap and thus the fluid torque transmitted between the driving and driven fans.

"6. A transmission as defined in claim 5 and wherein the planetary gear unit is of the sun and carrier type.

7. A transmission as defined in claim 5 and wherein there is provided means for selectively locking against rotation certain of the elements of the planetary gear unit; said last named means including pressure fluid actuated braking mechanisms, and a fluid pressure circuit between said mechanisms and said casing and including a selector valve.

8. In a transmission comprising a fixed housing including a sealed casing adapted to be filled with a suitable liquid, driving and driven shafts ex? tending into said housing and rotatably supported thereby, driving and driven fans in said casin arranged with a gap therebetween and coaxial with said shafts; a gear train in said housing and including elements one of which is fixed to said driving shaft and another to said driven shaft;

means mounting said driving and driven fans and operatively interconnecting the same respectively with said driving shaft and a further element of said train and providing for relative axial movement between said fans automatically in response to operative conditions to vary the fan gap and thus the fluid torque transmitted between the driving and driven fans; spring means tending to axially move said fans relatively to a position of maximum gap, means for selectively locking against rotation certain of the elements of said gear train to obtain different driving results through the transmission; said last named means including pressure fluid actuated braking mechanisms and a fluid pressure circuit between-said mechanisms and said casing and having therein a selector valve; locking means for maintaining said fans against relative axial movement from a position of maximum fan gap, and mechanical operative connections between said locking means 'and said selector valve for automatically actuating said locking means when said selector valve isin a predetermined position.

:9. A transmission as defined in claim 8 and wherein the means mounting said driving and driven fans includes means 'rotatably mounting said driven fan in fixed axial position and operatively interconnecting the same with a further element of said train; and means rotatably mounting said driving fan and operatively interconnectingthe same 'withs-aid driving shaft for rotation therewith and axial displacement relative thereto; said locking means being operatively associated with said driving fan and said driving shaft.

10. A transmission'zas defined in claim 8 and wherein the means for mounting said driving and driven fans includes means rotatably mounting said driven fan in fixed axial position and operatively interconnecting the same with a further element of said train and means for mounting said driving fan and including a sleeve freely rotatable and slidable on said driving shaft; said driving shaft and said sleeve being provided with cooperating threads rotatably interconnecting the shaft and sleeve but providing for relative axial movement therebetween; said locking means including cooperating pin and groove elements carried by said sleeve and driving shaft.

11. In a transmission comprising a fixed housin'g including a sealed casing adapted to be filled with a suitable liquid, driving and driven shafts extending into said housing and rotatably supported thereby, driving and driven fans in said casing and coaxial with said shafts; a planetary gear unit in said housing and including a plurality of sun gears, a carrier and gears carried by said carrier and meshing with said sun gears, one of said sun gears being fixed to said driven shaft, said carrier being fixed to said driving shaft; means mounting said driving fan for rotation with said drivingshaft, means mounting said driven fan for rotation relative to said driving shaft and operatively another of said sun gears; a brake wheel in said housing fixed to said last named means; a free wheeling device operatively associated with said brake wheel and including an annulus which when held against rotation prevents rotation of said brake wheel and driven fan in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of said driving shaft; a brake disk in said housing and rotatable relative to said brake wheel and said drivin shaft and operatively connected to another of said sun gears; separate brake mechanisms operatively associated with said brake wheel, said annulus and said brake disk and acting when applied to hold said wheel, annulus and disk respectively against rotation to effect respectively by the transmission a positive low gear drive of the driven shaft or a forward automatic drive thereof or a reverse drive thereof; pressure fluid actuated devices for said brake mechanisms, a fluid pressure circuit between said devices and said casin and including a supply circuit extending from said casing, a selector valve for selectively actuating any one or none of said devices to selectively apply anyone or none of said brake mechanisms and connected to said supply circuit, and separate conduits extending from said valve to each of said devices.

12. A transmission as defined in claim 11 and wherein said supply circuit includes an on and ofi valve adapted to be operatively interconnected with the accelerator for the power source for the driving shaft so as to be ofi or closed when said power source is idling and on or opened upon acceleration of said power source.

13. A transmission as defined in claim 11 and wherein said supply circuit includes a conduit connected to said selector valve, a branch conduit from said first conduit and connected to said selector valve independently of said first conduit and including therein a check valve allowing pressure fluid to flow only from said first conduit through said branch conduit, and an accumulator interconnecting said driven fan with I 17 in communication with said branch conduit, said selector valve being provided with means for placing said first conduit selectively in communication with the separate conduits extending to the devices for actuating the braking mechanisms associated with the free wheeling annulus and the brake disk, said selector valve being provided with independent means for placing said bran-ch conduit and said accumulator in communication with said separate conduit to the device for actuating the brake mechanism associated with the brake wheel, whereby when the driving shaft is stopped said selector valve may be positioned to effect braking or" the brake wheel by the fluid pressure in the accumulator and the transmission can be locked in positive low gear.

14. A transmission comprising, in combination, a housing including a sealed casing adapted to be filled with a suitable liquid, driving and driven shafts extending into said housing and rotatably supported thereby; a fluid drive unit in said casing and including an impeller fan operatively connected with said driving shaft and a driven fan; a planetary gear unit in said housing operatively connecting said shafts and operatively connecting said driven fan of said fluid drive unit with said driven shaft, separate brake mechanisms operatively associated with said planetary 18 verse drive therethrough; pressure fluid actuating devices operatively associated with said braking mechanisms, fluid circuits from said casing to said devices, the fluid circuit extending to the device that operates the brake mechanism for obtaining positive low gear drive including an aocumulator, and control means operatively asso- 'ciated with said circuits for selectively applying the brake mechanisms to obtain forward'automatic drive, reverse drive, positive low gear drive, or to lock the transmission in positive low gear by the fluid pressure in the accumulator when the driving shaft is stopped.

EDWIN G. REED, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,158,557 Lammeren May 16, 1939 2,196,660 Dodge -1 Apr. 9, 1940 2,235,370 Jandasek Mar. 18, 1941 2,238,310 Dodge Apr. 15;, 1941 2,316,390 Biermann Apr. 13, 1943 2,318,187 Addison May 4, 1943 2,345,752 Jandasek Apr. 4, 1944 2,361,104 Jandasek Oct. 24, 1944 2,364,448 Jandasek Dec. 5, 1944 2,372,817 Dodge Apr. 3, 1945 2,377,009 Heyer May 29, 1945 

